This Woman Is My Destiny
by Lunalove25
Summary: Mulan's arrival in Storybrooke did not include meeting a certain princess again. But after a bit of persuading from Emma, will she follow her heart and obtain the love of the person whose heart she had once held in her hands and grown to love so much? Sleeping Warrior to the max


**I'm writing this because Mulan is coming back and I need me some Sleeping Warrior. Also, how have I never written for them before?**

 **I have no idea which universe this takes place in - don't ask. Assume it's in the future after the whole "Dark Swan" stuff is dealt with.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I congratulate those that do in making the excellent decision to bring back Mulan. Seriously, thank you.**

* * *

Mulan wasn't sure that she'd ever get used to Storybrooke. Everything was strange and new, but the people were so friendly that it was almost uncomfortable. After getting some new clothes, because armor wouldn't really do in this realm, she found herself spending a lot of time tagging along with Emma and David as they did their sheriff duties, and she ended up becoming deputy. David split his time between the station and his family, including his infant son, Neal, so Mulan helped Emma keep the paperwork from piling up. It wasn't too difficult, and she found that she enjoyed learning about the town from Emma. She and the blonde got along well, despite Mulan's initial confusion when she first found out that Emma and the pirate were "together". At first, Mulan wasn't sure if she trusted him, but Hook - Killian, as Emma referred to him - seemed genuinely smitten with her friend.

She would still keep an eye on him, though.

Emma and their drives around town became Mulan's way to learn about the people who lived there. Emma explained to her how Neal had passed - died a hero, she was told, and that wasn't hard to believe - and talked about the various townsfolk.

It was going fine, until Emma brought up a certain princess.

"I notice you haven't asked about anyone since you've returned," Emma said during one of their drives while they were stopped at a red light. "Usually when people show up here, they start looking for someone right away. Family, friends, people they care about."

"I saw Robin and the Merry Men when I first arrived. They're my family now, and my friends," Mulan replied.

"What about people that you care about?"

"I care about them."

" _Other_ people."

"If you have something to say, just say it, Emma."

"Okay. What about Aurora? She was pretty important to you from what I remember. You were willing to die for her."

Mulan let out a short breath. "It's complicated."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. Please, don't bring it up."

Emma nodded. "Fair enough. I just thought you'd want to know what happened to her."

 _That_ caught her attention. "What do you mean? Is she alright?" Mulan asked, trying to remain calm.

 _Bingo_ , Emma thought.

"Oh, she's fine _now_ ," she replied nonchalantly.

"Then what happened?" When Emma bit her lip rather than responded, Mulan said, "Tell me!"

"I will! I'm just trying to figure out how to explain it…" The light changed and they drove to Granny's. Mulan was doing her best to be patient as Emma got them some food. "Okay, so first thing you should know - Phillip is dead."

Mulan nearly dropped her mug of coffee. " _What_?"

"Sorry, thought I'd start with the worst news. Yeah, he died a while back. There was this whole mess with Zelena and flying monkeys, and people turning _into_ flying monkeys-"

"Wait, _what_?"

" -but the point is, he's dead." Ruby brought over a plate of fries that Emma had ordered, mostly definitely eavesdropping, then left to take orders from other customers.

"What about Aurora? And the baby?" Mulan asked as Emma plucked a fry from the stack.

"Oh, they're fine. Just….without Phillip."

Mulan drank her coffee silently. How did you react to something like that? Emma ended up breaking the silence by saying, "She named her son Phillip in memory of him."

"That's….that's nice," Mulan replied.

"I think you should go see her. Whatever your history is, whatever happened, don't you both need the closure?"

She was right. "I suppose… I'll consider it."

* * *

A week later, Mulan still hadn't figured out how to approach Aurora, so when Emma suggested going to a little "celebration" they were throwing at the town hall, she figured it was worth a shot. She didn't know _what_ they were celebrating, but at this point they dealt with so much chaos that it was probably for the best that the townsfolk enjoy the peace while they could.

She showed up at town hall about five minutes after the party had started and stood at the door, unsure of whether this was wise. She was about to turn around when a voice from inside said, "Going somewhere?"

She turned to see Robin with a plastic cup in hand.

"I'm not sure yet," Mulan replied.

"Well if I were you, I'd be heading inside." He gestured towards the door with the cup - she could see it was partly full of the "soda" beverage that Henry liked so much. She had tried it and found it too sweet for her tastes.

"Why?" Mulan asked.

"Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that it's not polite to keep a lady waiting," Robin replied.

She took a breath and nodded. "Right…"

"She's over by the snack table, in case you were wondering," Robin said before going back inside. Mulan took another breath, pushed some hair out of her face, and walked inside.

She was sure the decorations would have been lovely if she had been paying attention to them, but right now her mind was focused on the beautiful woman in the beautiful dress - shorter than what she had worn in the Enchanted Forest, but it didn't matter because to Mulan, Aurora would look beautiful no matter what she wore - and making sure that she didn't trip on her way over as she made her way past people; oh god, she was getting closer, and what if Aurora didn't recognize her in these new clothes, or thought they looked bad, or -

" _MULAN!"_

And at that moment, she nearly fell over from the force of Aurora's hug.

"A-Aurora," she said, her voice shaky and unsure as she tentatively returned the hug. Aurora only hugged her tighter.

"Where have you been?! I had no idea you were in town!"

"I...thought you might not wish to see me… I've heard what happened to Phillip…. I'm sorry."

Aurora shook her head. "It was almost a year ago, Mulan. I've moved on, but why would I not want to see _you_?"

She didn't have an answer for that. They fell silent for a moment, then Aurora broke it.

"I've missed you, Mulan."

"I've missed you too, Aurora."

Aurora cast her gaze down at the floor. "Ever since you left to join the Merry Men…. I've been so lonely."

"But….you had Phillip. And now according to Emma, you have your son."

"Yes, but it wasn't the same! I missed _you_! I…. I just wanted _you_!"

Mulan was stunned silent. She then acted on impulse, and brought her hand up to gently raise Aurora's face so they were looking each other in the eye again. Then, they kissed.

It was blissful - in fact, bliss was all Mulan could feel in that moment. She vaguely heard Emma yell "Pay up!" in the background but it didn't matter - nothing else mattered. A meteor could have hit and wiped them all out, and she wouldn't have cared.

When they pulled apart, seconds could have passed, or maybe years but Mulan couldn't tell and didn't care. Aurora was smiling and her cheeks were the lightest shade of pink, and they were both happy and that was what really mattered. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Emma triumphantly holding a ten dollar bill while Mary Margaret pretended to look annoyed at having lost a bet, but Mulan could see that she was smiling.

There were probably others watching them as well, but they didn't mattered. Nothing mattered to Mulan except her princess.


End file.
